cost of living in Oz (Perth in particular)

[Sibble]

Dh wants to move to Perth. I am reluctant. I've already made the move from UK to NZ and 7 years later have a good network, a very flexible well paid job and just don't want to do it all again. If the scenario is to be repeated he will get off te plane, start work and I'll be left with 2 children, schools to find, a house to buy, friends to make, a job to find for myself (he doesn't like me working but it's my sanity break - at the moment I contract so only work school hours and no school hols).

Anyway, I think he's looking for something that doesn't exist. We have a fab home here 11 acres, pool, spa 15 mins to beach and a beach house an hours drive away.

I've been playing with different sites and it looks to me as though rather than being better off we might be worse off. Houses look expensive and the cost of living not much different to here. So please tell me about the cost of living, houses, schools, the school system, commuting in and around Perth etc etc...........

I don't know if I'm being unreasonable or him but want to try to put some perspective on it all. At the moment I feel like me and the boys are just chattles that he packs up when he wants a change! IF we're going to do this I need to get my head around it a bit more. If it helps he's looking at jobs in the $180-$200k range.

With that salary you will be able to afford a great house in Perth and good lifestyle. Don't know how that compares to NZ. Perth will certainly be a lot hotter than NZ and it doesn't rain much (about 20 days a year). Why does your DH want to move? MIning companies are booming in Perth and the beaches are amazing, but it is very isolated and flights to other cities in Australia are really expensive.
www.realestate.com.au is good for house hunting. There are lots of Brits in Perth so you will make friends quickly. But as you said you've already done this once.
Good luck

Marking my place. There was a MNetter called Ghosty who moved from Auckland to Oz, but I don't think she posts any more.

I feel for you Sibble - sounds like a move that you don't really need.

Thanks I'll check that site out. Dh isn't happy at work, he's moved jobs 4 times in the 7 1/2 years we've been here, 3 in the last 2-3. While NZ is a great place it is a small place with limited opportunities. He feels he's exhausted his options and needs to look oversees and get back into a bigger corporation. I can understand that and it's not much fun when he's stressed, grumpy etc etc..... Perth came about because over a few wines when on holiday in Noosa last month I said if we were going to move I didn't want to go to Melbourne or Sydney (might as well go back to London for city living with a big commute) so it would have to be Brisbane or Perth. I have lived in Perth many many years ago and it's closer to the UK flightwise. He's obviously been thinking and (as he does) sent off his CV for jobs this weekend. He thought I was saying - hey that's a great idea, I thought we were having a hypothetical discussion and that it was a bit of fun!!!!

If it comes down to it, I'd go, what else do you do? but I don't think he's thinking properly. I just want to be able to put my side forward without sounding like I'm being deliberately negative.

we live in port kennedy which is a 45minute drive to the centre of perth( non rush hour add about 30-45 min for rush hour). we are just outside of rockingham. the schools around here are good both private and public. food shopping can be more expensive than the uk but if you look for the speical offers you can pick up some good deals. i am not loyal to either coles or woolworths! houses are not to badly priced and if you are willing to do alittle work then you can pick up a real deal ( we have just brought a 4 bed, 2 bath, family/kitchen room, activity room,games room, double garage, lounge, accross the road to a park, 800m to the beach for $435.000) if you have little children there are lots of toddler groups and last term there were loads of free things going on in rockingham. to the extent that my 6 year old was getting boared of zorb balls! my friends daugter even won an ipod for just going on the free activties!

Thanks Shells and Ben5. Dh is dead against a long commute so although I've been looking at areas until we know a) if he gets the job and b) where he's going to be based it's like putting a pin in the map. Having said that all the places my friends and I used to live (rent) are in the $2-5k price range. Shame I didn't buy way back then! Having to re-think areas.

Turns out the one he's applied for is in the $300k salary bracket so I can see why he's somewhat excited so I'll just sit back and wait to see if he's shortlisted (secretly crossing fingers he won't be so I can stop thinking about it).

Obviously that was $2-5 million

I saw your message and had to reply. As an ex-pat from Perth, been in UK for 12 years but lived there for a year 2 years ago (family reasons but long story) we were horrified at the cost of just about everything compared with London. My husband is a professional like yours (works in the City) and was on a really good salary whilst we were there, but if it is "big busines" he is looking for then I don't think Perth is the place for him. DH (he is also from Perth originally) was bored out of his skull and couldn't wait from to return to the UK.
Admittedly we lived in the "golden triangle" (western suburbs), very expensive to rent/buy. Food shopping was the thing that horrified me the most, my weekly shop in Waitrose for some things was cheaper. Eating out also seemed expensive. Flights home aren't cheap either so you must also factor it in.

We even toyed with the idea of returning "home" but decided that jobwise for him the UK was the best place at the moment, as I didn't want to start all over again in Melb or Syd when I was settled here in the UK.

However having said that the beaches are the best in the world, cafe and outdoor lifestyle can't be beaten, weather great, people very friendly and it is a very beautiful place to live, albeit very isolated! What can I say I am biased...

BUT the "grass is always greener" and we found that Perth has changed a lot since we last lived there!

Sounds as though your life in NZ is pretty good, apart from his work....

Happy to answer any questions you might have.

Hi Sandgroper and thanks. I'm not sure what I want to know, if I'm honest just some facts or info to justify my reservations.

It's 20 years since I did my OE and lived in Perth and although I've been back a few times the last time was about 12 years ago. I don't think I've helped as over the years I've raved about Rottnest Island, Kings Park, the beaches, the lifestyle etc etc and it is a beautiful place. However, I was child free, we lived in East Perth and Victoria Park, our friends lived in Cottesloe, Freemantle and Subiaco. I used to work 6am - 1pm sleep on the beach, eat and then head out for the night and with a few hours sleep walk along the Swan River as the sun rose to work....perfect.

Now, we have 2 children the heat, the wildlife, the isolation, the fact that although I'm sure there's been alot of growth in the past 12 years I'm not sure it's the city dh thinks it is makes me nervous. As I say I've googled houses and anything central that I like is over $2 million. I think tax at the higher rate is 45%, with the budget here yesterday and the fact we contract or consult through a business means that shortly we'll be paying 28% tax, so I'm not even sure we will be financially better off.

The problem is I seem so negative when I try to explain especially as I can't offer and alternative.

So I guess any information is good.

Well you clearly can't bugger off to Perth as I would have to answer those "Shall we move to Auckland?" threads on my own. Do you think that argument would hold any sway with your dh?

The only plus I can really think of is (as you said) shorter flight times for visits back to the UK. But I have never been to Perth so I really can't comment. Sounds like you are very well-settled in NZ now though.

just a quick question to sibble really. why do you think that perth is isolated? how far out of the city would you like to live?

lol WhatSheSaid!

Hi Ben5, isolated in relation to places to travel to and I know that's weird coming from somebody in Auckland which is hardly the centre of the universe and I know there are heaps of great places to drive to. I guess isolated in a European sense where you can be in a different country, culture etc in an hour or so.

From Auckland we're used to travelling 3 hours + for holidays abroad i.e. to experience something different and I think the flying time to Melbourne, Sydney, Singapore etc will be 3-4.5 hours so not dissimilar.

Where to live - that's the big question. Dh doesn't want a big commute. At the moment we are 30 mins from Auckland off peak and that's far enough as if he gets stuck in traffic it's over an hour. It took me an hour this morning leaving at 9 for a 10 o'clock appointment and I just made it. So probably more central????????????? I don't know depends if he gets the job where it is based. They are being cagey about the location.

I've re-read what I've written and maybe I am being too picky. Maybe I just don't want to move and am looking for excuses. When we moved here I was looking forward to the move. I was ready to leave the UK. I just don't feel the need to uproot everybody and move to Perth, as lovely as it is and there lies the problem dh wants to go!

Hi Sibble

Sorry for not responding earlier, it's 25 degrees here and have been outside making the most of the sunshine as you never know how long it will last!

No I don't think you are being picky at all. It would be such a big move for you to go to Perth, start all over again etc. Why don't you write a pros and cons list between Perth and Auckland and I bet you will be surprised with the outcome. That's what we did and it just made our decision to come back to the UK right for us.

I also know what it is like to have a DH unhappy with his job, esp if you are a SAHM. Can really make home life hell, but on the otherhand I don't think Perth will hold all the solutions he thinks it would. Sure he may love the job and relish a new challenge but for that kind of salary I expect he will be working long hours, perhaps travelling, leaving you at home with the DC's.

We lived in Shenton Park and like you all the houses I like are in the same price bracket. The mining boom was a great thing for WA in a lot of respects but not in others. Real estate values are over inflated. What is the point of moving somewhere to live in an area that is not your first choice? Of course you can get cheaper houses, but a lot further out and then that adds to your commute time/cost (assuming the job will be in the CBD)!

The isolation was also a big negative for us (even though in some ways it is great), as like you we are used to travelling abroad and being in a totally different country/culture in a short space of time e.g. popping over to France for a long weekend is faster for us than driving to Cornwall.

Financially for us it was better to stay in the UK, still is with the appalling exchange rate!

Guess you will just have to wait and see what pans out with the job, you never know it might amount to nothing and then your problem will be solved!

You say you can't offer an alternative, but surely the alternative is staying in Ak, where you are settled, presumably your ds's are happy at school, you all have friends, etc.

I think it's not so much the cost of living in Perth as on the salary you are talking about you would obviously be comfortable anywhere in NZ or Aus. The expat forums would be able to give you an idea of cost of everyday stuff, groceries etc - the impression I get is that Oz is slightly cheaper than NZ for all that kind of stuff, though poss less so in Perth because it's so isolated that I imagine a lot of stuff has to be flown/road train-ed in?

The impression I get of the isolation of Perth is that it's different to the isolation of Ak - yes, NZ is obviously an extremely isolated country, but from where you live you can drive for 3 hours or less and be at the snow at Ruapehu, or in the Bay of Islands, or in the Coromandel, or Rotovegas - there is quite a lot of variety in NZ. You can fly for 1-1 and a half hours and be virtually anywhere in NZ. The impression I get of Perth is that you have to fly to get anywhere else ( I could be totally wrong about this, like I say, I've never been).

The question really is do you want to have to start all over again somewhere, new schools, new job, new friends etc. Does your dh have any strong feelings about the ds's growing up Kiwi - I know some NZers come back from Oz/other overseas locations because they want their kids to have that Kiwi childhood thing. Perth may be absolutely lovely but is is lovelier than what you have already?\ in Ak?

Since your dh has had a few jobs in the last few years that he hasn't liked would you feel happier if he went to Perth by himself for 6 months or so (maybe coinciding with long Christmas hols so you could join him.)? You could then make a decion on whether to move or not ready for the new school year, knowing whether Perth could offer him the job he wants or whether he is chasing the unobtainable.